Sunderland have announced the appointment of Roberto De Fanti as director of football and Valentino Angeloni as chief scout.

The club have created the director of football position as they seek to improve player recruitment, and Angeloni, who joins from Inter Milan, will work to identify potential targets.

FIFA agent De Fanti had worked alongside Angeloni at Udinese and Inter, and Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne believes they will be a major asset to the club.

"Roberto and Valentino bring with them a wealth of experience, knowledge and football contacts from across Europe and indeed the world and we are delighted to welcome them to Sunderland," Byrne told the club's official website.

"The recruitment of players is of course key for any football club and Roberto and Valentino will work closely with the head coach and the board to identify targets as we look to strengthen our squad for next season and beyond.

"I would also like to extend our thanks to the president of Inter Milan, Massimo Moratti, who graciously agreed to allow Valentino to make the move to Sunderland."

Sunderland also confirmed that De Fanti, who has been acting in an advisory role for some time, had played a part in the appointment of Paolo Di Canio as head coach.